Sparks Fly
by Rin Nao Yukari
Summary: In which a mission goes terribly wrong, lines are blurred, best friends are annoying, and sparks fly.


Sparks Fly

"Please, Itachi-san, stay awake for a little bit more," she huffed out in exertion as she pushed more healing chakra into her ANBU captain's bleeding, distorted torso. His eyes fluttered but he kept a blank, half-lidded gaze on her face.

Really, it was just supposed to be a simple reconnaissance mission through the outskirts of Ame and Iwa, but of course their squad would be attacked by several missing-nin who just happened to be passing by and holding a rather large grudge against Itachi. The fight was not necessarily difficult, but they were badly outnumbered.

She was hastily healing an injured Genma when a rather burly looking nin with a jagged sword came lunging toward her. She was prepared to grab her teammate and spring away when suddenly there were chakra strings curdling around her ankles and winding themselves up her body, dragging her closer and closer to her attacker.

Eyes shut for the inevitable attack, the pinkette braced herself for the pain. None came. Instead, the chakra strings from her ankles were severed and she found herself pinned to the ground with the bleeding body of her captain. Blinking in surprise, Sakura was suddenly filled with rage. Springing to her feet, she lunged at the smug man, jabbing a chakra scalpel into his throat and taking out the rest of the enemies with the aid of Genma. She quickly healed Genma's injuries before returning to her captain.

Why, oh why, did they have such bad luck? Sakura thought exasperatedly as she continued to push the last of her chakra into her captain.

_You. Can't. Die! _She thought desperately, healing the torn tissue around his heart. _I never told you how I felt about you!_

Tears were beginning to cloud her vision but did nothing to hinder her healing. Her feelings for her elder team captain were just becoming clearer to her but she hid her feelings well. They had been acquaintances for a long time and the respect she had for the Uchiha heir grew into a crush that never ceased to make her feel like a blushing school girl even at the age of 18. She knew he could never harbor the same feelings for her – he had too much going on in his life – but she did not mind. It was just a silly crush, it would go away.

Finally, the wound closed and Itachi began to breathe regularly. He blinked the bleariness away and sat up slowly, suddenly noticing the body slumped against his. He quickly assessed the situation – Genma was fine, save for some superficial cuts and burns. Sakura was – she was unconscious and there were bodies strewn across the field.

He set his medic on the grass and pulled off her ANBU uniform, ripping it off when the blood stuck the clothing to her skin. Why did she not heal herself first? Foolish. He quickly wrapped the wound and hauled her up into his arms.

"We need to get back to Konoha," Genma stated, panting with exertion.

Itachi nodded jerkily, his eyes flashing to the unconscious female in his arms. The two men set off quickly back to Konoha, flying through the trees and leaving Itachi to his muddled thoughts – or however confused the Uchiha could ever be.

Sakura was one of the few females he could be comfortable around – save for his mother. She was his little brother's teammate and therefore they had met many times when she and Naruto came over to visit Sasuke. He was always captivated with her expressive green eyes and the way she could be as fierce as a lioness and as demure as a lamb. She was unconditionally trustworthy and easily agitated but extremely loyal and genuinely worried for everyone.

_Worried for him_.

He did not know what to make of the little, pink haired enigma.

A pained groan snapped him out of his thoughts. Glancing down, he saw her toss her head, eyes screwed shut in throes of pain. His hands tightened on her unconsciously as he began to run even faster, his breath coming out in harsh pants because of his recent wounds.

He didn't care. He wouldn't let her die. Ever.

When she began to regain consciousness, he was at his side immediately. Dark eyes stared at her person intensely watching for the smallest indication of pain. There was none. The pinkette groaned softly and sat up so quickly that she winced in pain. Itachi's eyes narrowed and silently commanded her to lie back down.

Sakura propped herself up against the bed frame of the hospital bed, hardly concerned that all she wore were the bandages around her torso. She stared at her haggard team captain. The bags under his eyes were even more pronounced and his skin paler than usual.

"Are you hurt?" she asked, emerald eyes clouded with worry and a hand reaching out to him helplessly.

He said not a word and continued to stare at her. How was she still worried about him when it was she who was hurt? She confused him and he was not sure if he liked it or not. Then she did something that made Itachi lose control for the first time in a long time.

She bit her lip and stared at him from under dark pink eye lashes, eyes beseeching and guileless.

Itachi sprung forward quickly, a hand on the soft curve of her waist and the other on the back of her neck, pressing her toward him while he pressed his lips to hers in a rough kiss.

Sakura's eyes were wide in surprise and shock. She did nothing to respond to him but gasp in surprise when he bit her lower lip harshly, sliding his tongue against her lips – kissing her thoroughly, harshly. He growled and swept the interior of her mouth and then –

And then it was over. He pulled back like she shocked him something fierce and a blank, dispassionate look took over his face. He looked slightly apologetic, turned and left her to her confused and hurt feelings.

A hand flew to her lips with a wondering look before her face fell into a crushed look and tears gathered into her eyes helplessly. He had effectively crushed her in just one touch and she did not know what to make of it. Wrapping her arms around herself in an attempt to hold in her emotions and sobs, the pinkette willed herself to sleep.

___~The way you move is like a full on rainstorm _

_And I'm a house of cards, _

_You're the kind of reckless that should send me runnin'_

_But I kinda know that I won't get far, _

_And you stood there in front of me just close enough to touch, _

_Close enough to hope you couldn't see, _

_What I was thinking of~_

Itachi had no idea what had happened to him. He had just kissed his teammate! His beautifully flustered, pink haired, emerald eyed teammate. Shaking his head of those foolish thoughts, the Uchiha heir entered the council room in the Uchiha compound. He had been called for a meeting with the elders and his parents right upon returning from his mission but had put it off to see to Sakura's wellbeing.

"Ah, Itachi, please take a seat," one of the elders insisted.

He took a seat at the end of the table and eyed the occupants with mild suspicion. All the elders were present and his parents sat to either side of him. What was going on?

"The matter of this issue is solely you, Itachi," the same elder began. "You have been of age to marry for nearly six years and this issue has been put off far too long. You must marry within this year."

Itachi's jaw tightened and his eyes hardened as he stared at the elder. "I will not."

"Itachi-chan," his mother whispered worriedly, placing a hand on his shoulder, "you are twenty-four, don't you think it's time to –"

"No, mother," he said with hard resolve, inwardly slapping himself for being so harsh to his mother.

"We have plenty of Uchiha women willing to marry you, Itachi," the elders tried again. "Uchiha Nao is one of our top candidates, surely you would be willing to reconsider –"

"No," he said again, standing up and crossing his arms over his chest, "I will not marry until I am ready."

That was the final say on the matter, he was sure. For now.

_Drop everything now  
Meet me in the pouring rain  
Kiss me on the sidewalk  
Take away the pain  
'cause I see sparks fly whenever you smile  
Get me with those green eyes, baby, as the lights go down  
Give me something that'll haunt me when you're not around  
'cause I see sparks fly whenever you smile  
_

When Sasuke and Naruto entered the hospital room to visit their pink haired teammate, they found her curled on her side with shaking shoulders, small whimpers of sobs escaping her lips.

"Sakura-chan!" Naruto shouted, rushing to her side.

Sakura turned around and gasped, wiping at her tears. She didn't want them to see her like this. She was _not_ a crybaby. Smiling as brightly as she could, she hugged her heart brother tightly – holding on for dear life.

"What did he do?" Sasuke growled suddenly.

Realizing he meant Itachi, Sakura shook her head immediately, "No, Sasuke-kun. He didn't do anything."

Sasuke stared at her intensely, "You are a horrible liar."

Worrying her lips, she willed back the tears in her eyes. Itachi had not returned since their kiss and everything inside of her felt like falling apart. She knew she shouldn't feel this way about him – especially since there was no way they would ever work, he being an accomplished heir and her being a jonin from civilian parents. But it seems that no matter how hard she tried, he would always have a special place in her heart.

"I want to go home," she whispered instead of acknowledging his comment.

Sasuke's eyes softened at his teammate – correction, _sister_. She was no doubt feeling awful – both physically and emotionally. She couldn't go back to her lonely apartment herself, he decided. She wouldn't look after herself.

"Stay with me until you are completely healed," he suggested or rather ordered.

"I don't know Sasuke-kun," Sakura murmured. In truth, she just didn't want to see Itachi.

"He's away at a mission, Sakura," Sasuke informed her quietly. He rested a hand on her shoulder and offered her what little comfort he could. Naruto nodded to him and went to get her release forms. When he turned back to her, he was surprised to find that she had curled herself around him like a baby koala – clinging to his shirt as if it were her lifeline.

"He kissed me," she whispered so quietly that he thought he had imagined it.

_~My mind forgets to remind me  
You're a bad idea  
You touch me once and it's really something,  
You find I'm even better than you imagined I would be.  
I'm on my guard for the rest of the world  
But with you I know it's no good  
And I could wait patiently but I really wish you would...~_

After calming himself, with great effort, Sasuke and Naruto helped their teammate to the Uchiha main compound. When they arrived, the younger Uchiha had breathed a breath of relief to see that his older brother had not returned from his mission.

Sakura smiled softly at the familiarity of the place. She and Naruto came over to Sasuke's far too often for it to be formal to them. Heading to the guest room, she was confused when Sasuke steered her in the opposite direction.

"Sasuke-kun," she protested, her brows drawing together in confusion, "what are you doing?"

"You are going to stay in my room so I can keep a better eye on you," he stated.

She stared at him in disbelief. Did he really just insinuate that she couldn't take care of herself? The nerve of that boy! "Uchiha Sasuke, you did _not_ just say that! I can take care of myself!"

"Sakura-chan," Naruto whined, "How do we know if teme's pervy brother won't kidnap you in the middle of the night?"

The pink haired girl was positively gaping at her best friends. "You _told him!_"

Sasuke barely flinched. "He needed to know."

"He did_ not!_" she shouted, shoving the Uchiha back. "Urghh, I can't believe I agreed to this!"

Grabbing the bag by her feet, the pinkette stormed for the door, not caring for her tender wounds at the moment.

"Eep!" she squealed when suddenly she was swept up into strong arms and staring into innocent blue eyes. "Naruto! Put me down!"

"Come on, Sakura-chan! Teme means well," he said cheerfully, dropping her into the bed and tucking her in.

"Rest," Sasuke commanded, and the two left the room.

Despite the annoyance she felt for her teammates, she felt herself fall asleep. Sasuke shut the door and went to find a futon. Naruto had decided to stay overnight as well.

"Here," the Uchiha said curtly, shoving a futon into his best friend's hands. He grabbed one for himself before the two snuck into his room, careful not to wake their sleeping teammate.

Laying the futon's out beside the bed, the two climbed in and slowly slipped into unconsciousness as well.

Sometime during the night, Sakura had woken up to a slight throbbing in her abdomen. She hissed softly in pain and sat up. She rubbed her wound gingerly and carefully walked over the snoring bodies of her best friends. Naruto choked slightly and stirred before rolling over and sleeping on. Sasuke snored lightly and turned slightly, kicking Naruto in the process.

Sakura laughed silently and walked out of the room to get a glass of water and painkillers. The house was silent save for the light shining from Fugaku's study. Feeling curious about the low voices, the jonin slid silently toward the room and suppressed her chakra miraculously. She pressed her ear against the wall and listened.

"Itachi," Fugaku murmured fiercely.

Sakura jumped slightly with a start. He was _here_?

"Otou-san," Itachi greeted with a hard voice.

"You have blatantly disobeyed the clan's orders," his father continued, "I will not stand for this. You will marry this year to the woman we decide upon."

The rosette gasped. Marry? _Marry?_ Itachi was going to get _married?_ She could feel the tears in her eyes and heard Itachi step out of the room and his eyes widen. Sakura shook her head and turned to run out of the house.

The Uchiha heir cursed under his breath and glared at his father who sat silently, "No. I will do things because _I want to_ not because of the clan."

With that final phrase, he ran out of the house and cursed again to find rain pouring down onto him. He flipped his hair over his shoulder and glanced around with raptor vision where he saw his target on the ground by the gates of the Uchiha compound. He gritted his teeth in guilt and ran up to her.

Sakura gasped and sobbed and hurt. She didn't understand why love was so complicated. She said it was only a crush, dammit! She was supposed to be over him. The rosette clutched at her heart and cried silently. Why couldn't she be happy for once? Why couldn't he tell them no? Suddenly the pouring rain stopped. Sakura glanced up to find the source of her pain hovering right above her.

"Itachi! You're going to get sick out here," she gasped, standing up and backing away from the man who could crush her emotionally with one blow.

He didn't say anything. He just took a step toward her and pulled her into an embrace that took her breath away. Crying silently, she gripped his shirt and apologized profusely for eavesdropping. Then there were fingers on her chin turning her vision toward onyx eyes. Itachi lowered his face and touched his lips to hers in a surprisingly gentle kiss.

"I apologize for earlier," he whispered so softly she strained to hear it.

"Why?" Sakura whispered, a hand stroking his cheek.

"I don't know," Itachi replied huskily, leaning in to touch his forehead against hers, "but I am willing to find out with you by my side."

And this time, it was she who leaned in to initiate the kiss.

_Drop everything now  
Meet me in the pouring rain  
Kiss me on the sidewalk  
Take away the pain  
'cause I see sparks fly whenever you smile  
Get me with those green eyes, baby, as the lights go down  
Give me something that'll haunt me when you're not around  
'cause I see sparks fly whenever you smile_

"TEME! SAKURA-CHAN'S BEING MOLESTED BY YOUR BROTHER!"

**DONE! So, here's a musing I've had for a while. I love this song and felt like I've been inactive for wayyyy too long, so here's a story! **__


End file.
